Offshore Rental Co., Inc. v. Continental Oil Co.
California Supreme Court
22 Cal. 3d 157, 148 Cal. Rptr. 867, 583 P.2d 721 (1978)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
Offshore Rental Company (Offshore) (plaintiff) was a California corporation that leased oil-drilling equipment to companies in Louisiana. Offshore employed a vice-president of sales, Howard Kaylor, whose responsibility was to obtain contracts in Louisiana. On one trip to Louisiana to meet with representatives of Continental Oil Company (Continental) (defendant), Kaylor was negligently injured by Continental. Offshore sued Continental in California for $5 million in damages resulting from the loss of Kaylor’s services. A section of the California Civil Code prohibited any “injury to a servant which affects his ability to serve his master,” which, under some older California cases, conferred a cause of action to employers for negligent injury to a key employee. Louisiana law did not provide such a cause of action. The trial court found that Louisiana law governed the action and dismissed Offshore’s claim. Offshore appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Tobriner, J.)
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